Sculpture

Level 10-12
Prerequisite- FIVA prior to grade 11, unless waived
One semester- 1/2 credit

1. Course Description

The sculpture course explores three-dimensional design and is for students interested in working with the materials and concepts involved in making sculpture. The dynamics of the spatial aspect of an object and how an idea can develop into an art form are investigated. Using clay, metal, plastic, wood, plaster, found objects, etc., students work in three dimensions by carving, casting, modeling, and assembling.

2. Course Components

Studio Work

Students work through the process of visual thinking and problem solving in a variety of studio based experiences. They produce between 5 10 finished works a semester as a result of learning through exploration of sculpture styles and media.

In Sculpture, as in all art courses, students must learn to draw on some of the basic sources for continuing growth and development throughout their lives: observation, memory, imagination, innovation, interaction, reflection, and independent thinking. The skills to use these resources are embedded in the work of the Sculpture class.

Students develop an understanding of sculptural materials and skills through work in a variety of media. By exploring a variety of sculptural techniques such as assemblage, casting, carving, and modeling, students are better able to understand the possibilities of using three dimensional form to create their own personal imagery. Drawing is used throughout the semester for preliminary idea sketches and studies for works.

An understanding of technique is developed through short term exercises and longer assignments. After studying and discussing ways other artists have used these processes, students experiment with a variety of media, incorporating learned skills through application. This may include constructing a sculpture in paper mache or Pariscraft over an armature; creating a negative mold in plaster or moulage, then casting; distressing and forming metal in variety of ways, and constructing a work that uses cold connecting devices as functional and aesthetic elements of the design; modeling in clay over an armature; carving in wood, plaster or other materials. Although technique must be explored in each media, this is not to be strictly the aim of instruction; the focus is how a student artist can use each technique or media in an expressive manner to communicate an idea.

Students learn about the visual thinking process through regular sketchbook assignments, and larger scale work in class, in which they may explore composition, communication, and other design problems. Sketchbooks also serve as visual and verbal journals, in which students make record of their experiences, observations, responses to readings, and other information which they may draw upon in developing their own approach to sculpture as a means of personal expression. Not all work in class is expected to be finished and polished, but may be a means to further development of an idea, or understanding of technique.

Criticism

Students participate in a variety of forms of art criticism. This includes description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment of works of art and other forms of visual expression from historical and cultural sources. Students discuss and practice ways of analyzing works in terms of their use of visual elements and principles, interpreting the intent and meaning of works of these works, and making thoughtful, informed responses to the work from more than one point of view. Students also read and respond to reviews by art critics, and may write their own review of a show in a local gallery or museum as a result of a field trip to that show. At the end of particular units of study, or a semester, students help create displays of their own work. These exhibitions provide the opportunity to view the culmination of a series of works, and respond to these works individually and as a whole in written and oral critiques.

Historical and Cultural Knowledge

Within the study of any art form, students must learn and understand the significance of specific artists, movements, technological developments and cultural influences affecting our perception of that art form.
In sculpture, students are introduced to artists and art works through books, slides, videos, filmstrips, museum visits, and printed reproductions of work. Since there is no one book assigned as a textbook for this class, much cultural and historical background is presented through in - class slides, lectures, and discussions well as readings taken from a variety of books. In - depth research on an artist or movement is required for the semester.

Students will study the iconography of sculpture throughout history, with emphasis on ways contemporary artists have worked with many of the themes that have appeared in art throughout history. The historical significance of artists as catalysts for, and recorders of cultural, political, social and moral issues of their time will be studied to provide a context for understanding of contemporary work.

Testing

Testing is done on a regular basis in this and other visual arts courses. Students are tested in a variety of forms, both written and oral, and also must demonstrate their understanding of course content through application of learned concepts and techniques. Another form of cumulative periodical examination is the portfolio review, in which a student and teacher evaluate a student's demonstration of understanding of art concepts through application in his studio work.

3. Course Materials

Studio materials

In sculpture, availability of materials for all students through school ordering resources is vital, to insure a consistency of instruction and understanding by all involved. This includes expendable materials, tools, and equipment. Equipment used in sculpture, such as chisels, metalworking tools, saws and other woodworking equipment, is to be available at the school for student use. Other necessary equipment would include slide and film projectors, as well as a VCR, with which to present visuals to students. All students are to have a sketchbook as a place in which to draw studies, write responses, and record other work as stated in the studio section.

Reading materials

Students regularly use publications such as Art & Man, Art News, Art in America, Sculpture magazine and other student and professional magazines as resources for study on artists and art movements from the past, as well as contemporary art. Additional readings are taken from textbooks and reference books such as Living With Art , Gardner's Art Through the Ages , and Discovering Art History , as well as books about individual artists and art movements. Books used in this class may include: How to Look at Sculpture,
The Figure in Clay and Plaster, The Shock of the New,The History of Modern Art.

Audio Visual Materials

Because art is, after all, a visual activity, high quality visual media are vital in presentation of artist's work, working techniques, and in understanding the varied expression of ideas. Videos about artists such as Henry Moore, Giacometti, and Pablo Picasso help students understand the process an artist works through in formulating and expressing ideas in sculptural media, as well as exposing the student to images of the artists' work. High quality slide reproductions of work are often used to examine sculpture from various periods, to compare and contrast works of art in terms of content, meaning, style, and media, and to examine at art in formal terms of composition.

4. Student Expectations

Attendance

Most course learning requires that students are actively involved in the process of making art. Students must demonstrate satisfactory participation in class activities, including studio work, demonstrations, critiques and discussion. Since the studio experience cannot be reproduced, students are expected to be present in class. Following an absence, it is a student's responsibility to ask for makeup work.

Time

Work each week outside of class is expected, both on long-term and short-term assignments.

Presentation of Work

Students are expected to periodically pass in sketchbooks for evaluation of work, notes, etc. All sketchbook/journal assignments must be in this book; if done on separate paper they should be attached to a page in the sketchbook to avoid losing papers.

A number of works are to be presented as finished work. This may include mounting the work to prepare for a class presentation or display. Each student will also have a folder in which all other works on paper are to be collected; this is periodically reviewed to evaluate a student's progress. Students are expected to present work in other media in an appropriate manner, some as finished work, some as studies. For example, a finished work may be mounted on a base, as demonstrated in class.

Behavior

Appropriate behavior includes respect for other learners, school property, their own work, that of their peers, and the learning environment set by the teacher. Learning is the central activity in the classroom; student actions are expected to contribute to and support the plan for learning. When student actions detract from the learning situation, an offending student's grade will reflect the negative impact of his/ her actions upon the learning of other students in the class.

Care of Books, Materials, and Equipment

A student who loses, abuses, or destroys a book or any other course material or equipment that has been assigned to his or her care is responsible for its replacement cost.

5. EVALUATION

Grading Standards

In this course, student thinking, development of visual acuity, problem solving, researching, development of a visual vocabulary, and demonstration of these skills in studio work are at the center of class activity. Grading is viewed in this context. Because the critique process is an important part of learning about art, students are expected to participate in the evaluation of their own work, as well as the work of others. As students become more aware of the language and process involved in making and looking at art, they will become more comfortable with self-assessment.

Teachers will assess student performance and progress, as evidenced by studio work, in- class task commitment, homework, and daily preparation. Work is regularly reviewed in class discussion and critiques, to give students the opportunity to learn more through looking at their own work and the work of other students from different points of view.

The usual A B C D F system is used to grade student work each quarter. Work handed in late is subject to the penalty of a lower grade, or loss of credit for that work, as specified by individual teachers.

Student Outcomes

1. Students will understand the technical processes of sculpture in a variety of media.
2. Students will understand ways artists from various cultures and historical periods have used sculpture as an expressive medium.
3. Students will be able to recognize sculptural styles from various periods, and understand how a sculpture reflects the time in which it was created.
4. Students will apply this understanding to create original works of various subjects as solutions to visual problems, or as an expression of ideas.

Course Evaluation

This course is evaluated through input from students and art department faculty. This includes discussions among teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Teachers are aware of new practices affecting their curricular and instructional methods through attendance at conferences, art exhibits, readings, and networking with other art educators.

www.mta75.org/curriculum/art/sculpture.html; rev 9.6.96